Social Media ROI Story
Connecting, Following, Sharing and Buying
When I was younger I remember my grandparents always had the radio on in their car playing old shows that had big casts and sound effects. It was an experience. This caused me to have an addiction to radio.
That addiction spilled over to an interest in Podcasts. I settled on a handful that I still listen to today. I feel a connection with those individuals since I listen to them daily or weekly. They’re entertaining and informative.
One in particular announced you could follow them on Twitter. I began following and started to get info about upcoming guests and other important information I would not have gotten anywhere else.
Then a contest was announced on there Twitter feed. You enter through a link on one of there posts and agree to follow two other people on Twitter. Those other people were similar to them so it was a bonus. And once you entered, a post from you on your own Twitter feed was created so you could begin sharing the contest with those following you an so they could enter. Sadly, I did not win.
I pay nothing for this ability. That sounds great for me but seems like a big waste of time and money for those who host & produce the podcast.
Or is it?
- The podcast host wrote a book. I bought that book.
- The host of the podcast made a movie. I bought the DVD.
- The host made a deal with Amazon to have a button on their website that listeners could go through to make their Amazon orders. The show gets a kick back from each order made through their site. I order from Amazon so I have used there site to do it.
- The show is streamed online every night (the podcast is the audio of the live video uploaded the next day.) I payed for a one month subscription to it.
Yep. That is the sound of money changing hands. The ROI if you will. This relationship has taken a while but we have finally arrived at the serious part of all relationships – the spending of money. Social Media is like building up to that first kiss; except it is not guaranteed on the third date.
This is an example, maybe small but true, of how offering valuable content and experiences over the Social Media, in time, can have a monetary result. However, I do believe the relationship I discussed may have taken longer than it has to. You have to decide how much time you want to put into this type of marketing. That time, along with the content you provide, will determine how quickly you start making profits.
